There are now 100 million Apple Watch users on Earth: new report

The Apple Watch has risen to the status of an icon in the wearables space since its debut in 2014. It is a persistent market leader, and might underpin the appeal of its device category to the extent that it has spawned a slew of clones from other, often Android-phone, OEMs. Now, Above Avalon estimates that its uptake has grown to the point that 100 million units of the smartwatch are currently worn worldwide.

This figure translates to a 10% rate of uptake among all iPhone users. This figure might seem surprisingly low, especially considering Apple's efforts to push its Watch to the center of its mobile ecosystem generation by generation. On the other hand, and as Above Avalon points out, it is getting increasingly expensive to live this kind of life.

The Apple Watch series 6 currently starts at about US$400, rising to $529 for a SKU with standalone mobile data. Add in its more premium case or strap options - which currently include titanium, never mind its Hermes-themed option -  and the wearable can become a super-pricey optional companion to a fully-functioning electronic product.

Then again, that area of Apple Watch use is what has driven its uptake to its relative 2020 heights (compared to 3% on the first generation's release in 2015). Users have come to appreciate the convenience of being able to carry out a growing list of normally iPhone-only functions right from their wrists - not to mention the cachet of being able to do so, especially with seamless first-party integration.

In addition, the proportion of iPhone users who also have Watches rises to 35% in the US market, which is also associated with the markedly ready embrace of wearables. Therefore, should other national markets catch up in this respect, it may be that the smartwatch might even out-sell Macs by 2022.

This latest report on Apple Watch success also concludes that its future growth is likely to be driven (almost inevitably) by their fitness-boosting and -monitoring aspects. The wearables market is currently strongly influenced by demand for improved health-tracking features, to the point of near-clinical accuracy and power. There is no sign that Apple intends to slow down in this regard.

Finally, this OEM is also now linked to the launch of its first-gen mixed-reality (MR) headset, and the market research suggests the Apple Watch might find a new role as an adjunct to this device as well. One of them might indeed come in extremely handy when it comes to helping control and manage this kind of interface. In fact, Above Avalon seems to believe an MR user will not in fact get far without a connected smartwatch in this regard.

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